Supporters sing the virtues of R&B Music Hall of Fame

A Cleveland group is spearheading an effort to recognize the history of R&B and soul.

An artist's rendering of the proposed R&B Music Hall of Fame, which hopes to find a permanent Detroit site. A press conference was held July 16, 2014, announcing the search for an existing building to house the museum.(Photo: R&B Music Hall of Fame)

Joined by Detroit music figures such as Duke Fakir (Four Tops), Kim Weston and Spyder Turner, representatives of the project gathered Wednesday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History to start cultivating public support for the effort.

The project is spearheaded by Lamont (Showboat) Robinson, a former college basketball player and Harlem Globetrotter who runs the Harlem Clowns, a comedy basketball team based in Cleveland. He's also a longtime R&B enthusiast who is reported to have amassed thousands of pieces of music memorabilia.

Robinson has worked for several years to land a physical home for his R&B Music Hall of Fame, and said in 2012 that he was closing in on a Cleveland site, according to local news reports at the time. That plan didn't pan out, but the hall of fame's inaugural induction ceremony was held last summer at Cleveland State University, honoring such figures as the late James Brown, Otis Redding and Little Willie John.

A second round of inductions is scheduled for August in Canton, Ohio.

For Robinson's representatives, Wednesday was about building appetite in Detroit for a 30,000-square-foot museum that would include interactive exhibits and restaurants while celebrating the storied history of R&B and soul music.

"Our first priority is Detroit," said Cleveland bandleader Fred Wheatt, the hall of fame's executive director. "If you look at where this music started, Detroit is a better fit."

Next on the agenda is securing support from Detroit political officials, including mayor Mike Duggan. Duggan spokeswoman Linda Vinyard said Wednesday there is no meeting with the group on the mayor's current schedule.

The hall of fame group is not asking for any city funding, and Wheatt said unnamed financial supporters are already lined up to get the estimated $10-$15 million project under way.

"We have financial backing in place," he said. "We just need the political support to make this happen."

The group is seeking an existing Detroit structure to convert into a museum, Wheatt said.

Washington said an R&B Music Hall of Fame should not be viewed as competition to the Motown Historical Museum, housed for three decades at the label's original West Grand Boulevard headquarters.

Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum was frequently cited Wednesday, criticized by several speakers for overlooking many R&B artists.

Also on hand for Wednesday's event were daughters of the late Levi Stubbs, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson. Cheryl Ruffin, daughter of the late Temptations vocalist David Ruffin, was introduced as the project's main Detroit contact.

Motown alumni Fakir and Weston both emphasized that an R&B hall of fame is overdue — and that Detroit would be the ideal site.

"Timing in life is everything," said Fakir. "And right now the timing is perfect for this. Beyond (Detroit's) bankruptcy is a whole new world."

Weston said singers and musicians should join forces to make it happen.

"If we come together, ain't no way they can stop us," she said. "Now's the time for us to say: We deserve it."